“Louis Vuitton in Economy class. No matter how you look at it, your priorities are screwed up.”

– Goldman Sachs Elevator Gossip

Keep your priorities in check

A long time ago I read a great book called Class. While there’s a ton of interesting stuff in it, one thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that most “luxury” items aren’t actually for rich people. They are for middle class and poor people who want to pretend to be rich. Clothes with gaudy logos, “fancy” chain restaurants, and dozens of other frivolous items.

While most unnecessary purchases are easy to avoid if you have half a brain, there are a few well placed traps that can throw you off from time to time. These aren’t always as shallow or obvious as the stuff that would ensnare average people, but its out there. Watches, cars, and overpriced clothes have all been the downfall of many a young man. While there’s nothing wrong with rolling up in Ferrari or buying a Rolex, you’d better be sure that the rest of your life is in order.

What to consider before making an expensive purchase

Some time ago I did the math and realized that, by the end of the year, I was going to have enough in my savings account to possibly buy a CLA-Class without any payments. As a guy who loves Mercedes I was pretty excited. For about a week I went to sleep every night dreaming of my new car and all of the fun that I’d have in it. This car was all that was on my mind.

This was a great idea until I realized that there were a few problems. Even though I could buy the car, Internet business is fickle and that same money could support me for about a year if I really wanted. Secondly, my apartment and my car would be on two different continents. I’m sure I could ship it or something, but having that car in a developing country, even when you live in the nicest part, is asking for trouble. I wouldn’t be driving the car, but I’d still have to pay for the insurance and registration. Having an entry level Mercedes, which is a depreciating asset and will be worthless in 10 years, that you get to drive once or twice a year isn’t something that would be very financially smart.

Other issues with expensive purchases

There are a lot of people who will drop money on something superficial before they even master the fundamentals in their life. I went out in Minnesota one time and saw a fat guy rocking some expensive clothes and a gold chain. It would be safe to assume that he bought the outfit to attract girls, but it was like putting flame decals on a turd. His obesity nullified any potential that he had. I know dudes who are jacked that will go out in a generic T-shirt and get more girls than Fatty McGucci probably ever will.

Having nice stuff is like an end zone dance

There’s a theory that I’ve had for a long time. It basically goes like this: girls will like whatever you have only if they already like you. If you live at home, ride a Schwinn bicycle everywhere, and wear dad jeans, a girl who likes you will still find something to compliment you about. While manosphere and PUA guys love to try and sell, for $9.99, the idea that you can win any girl over by using their lame advice, things are a lot more binary. Either a girl likes you, but possibly doesn’t know it yet, or she isn’t attracted. No amount of silly hats, questions about the pet store, or Rolexes will ever solve that problem.

A friend of mine once told me that, when he was my age, the only thing he wanted was a Rolex. When he eventually bought one, after building a huge business empire, he said that it didn’t change anything. As a kid he’d imagined people would stop in the street and gawk at how successful he must be. As an adult, people knew him for his actions and character. The watch was inconsequential.

Buying stuff like shoes, watches, and cars is fun. I’ve got a couple of mid-range wrist pieces and a whole bunch of shoes. While it might boost my confidence, it doesn’t change anything. People know me for me. Having some accessories really doesn’t affect anything or make a huge impact.

“Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.”

– William Westmoreland

They’ll always water you down

When I listened to my Schopenhauer audiobook I was surprised by the beginning warning in which the editor apologized for some of the more offensive ideas that were present. This wasn’t the first time that I’d seen something like this though. I have a Nietzsche book which starts with a warning about “It was a different time and he didn’t know better.” One of my editions of Huckleberry Finn, and the one I never read, removed all of the racial slurs and replaced them with more tame material.

If you live long enough and create something profound enough everyone will try and water you down. Something that you said or did will be considered offensive to someone and a whole bunch of academics will try to trivialize and downplay it. Indiana Jones used to gun down hordes of Nazis during the 1980’s. When they dusted him out in 2008 there was virtually no violence. “That was a different era” things had to be family friendly.

The world was an orgy of sex, violence, and war. People dueled to the death, got in bare knuckles brawls, and beat each other into a pulp. Men rode viscous beasts across harsh mountain terrain so that they could stab other men using crude blades and spears. A brief trip to the Ancient History Encyclopedia is like traveling to some distant planet that knows nothing but war. You get mad about someone cutting you off in traffic and mumble under your breath, your ancestors disemboweled people and enslaved whole civilizations so that they could get a better trade route.

In 1914 men speared one another on bayonets, burnt their enemies lungs out with poison gas, and slaughtered whole armies with bulky machine guns. Human history is brutal. Men of the past sailed across oceans in wooden boats, battled with clubs, and fought their environment just to survive. It’s something none of use could ever comprehend. In a world of modern convenience and civil society we could never wrap our brains around the level of violence that most living humans had to endure.

When I go boxing I have to pay money to be in a controlled environment that merely simulates the savage nature of man. Sure I get hit and throw some punches back, but it’s never really life or death. You can go shower afterwards and then call up some friends to celebrate. It’s imitation war.

While I’d love to have something profound to say about violence and our love of it, nothing comes to mind. Conflict is something we all crave. There’s no question there. I’m just glad I live in a time where combat and fighting are leisure activities, not requirements for survival.

“I only eat fish – no chicken, no turkey, just fish. I get all my protein from fish and egg whites.”

– Jack LaLanne

You don’t need protein powder

Most people go to gyms that are filled with dorky dudes. Guys who hum Maroon 5 songs as they curl in the squat rack, dorks in silly outfits who worry about over training. Stuff like that. The gym I go to has the opposite problem. It’s basically just filled with guys who want to lift as much as possible without any regard to their form or safety. Sometimes you’ll see comical things like a dude leg pressing 600 pounds while his two buddies help push the weight for him. Other times people will injure themselves as they try to out deadlift one another.*

I’m not the safety troll and don’t care if other guys want to risk their health by trying to move weights they shouldn’t be touching. With the exception of bench press all of my main lifts are over 315. Despite being able to move some heavy weights I didn’t see a lot of progress in my body’s development. While I got bigger I ended up stagnating around December. No matter how much I tried to lift, or how many stupid lifts I tried to incorporate into my routine, I didn’t see a lot of change. I was basically just stuck at the low end of 180.

Because of this I decided to fall back on taking some advice from the dreaded “muscle comics” that a lot of guys hate on. I did an insanely tiring routine that took almost two hours a night. I also ate overpriced protein powder and experimented with some stupid diet.

The results were terrible. I actually looked worse than I had before and I lost muscle mass. Additionally, my face looked bloated and I felt tired all the time. Doing 5 sets of 10 with compound lifts and isolation exercises was way too much for me. While I switched over to a simpler routine, I still looked pretty terrible. Doing nonsensical lifts and eating “like a pro bodybuilder” only works if you have the secret ingredient, steroids. As such I looked like a weak dude.

About a month ago I went to workout with Matt and Nate in Des Moines. I was shocked to discover that they did a simple yet brutal workout that was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Instead of trying to lift huge weights using their momentum, they worked their actual muscles. After my first set I couldn’t even keep up with them.

I liked their style of lifting a lot and decided to try it out on my own. In addition I threw some static holds in at the end of my sets. When I first started doing this I caught a lot of flack. Other guys kept making fun of the fact that I wasn’t lifting “real weights” and was repeatedly told that my plan wouldn’t work.

Since I have my own special key to the gym that allows me to go at any time, I decided to start lifting in the afternoons. I didn’t have to deal with any criticism and I figured that lifting at 1pm would be a nice way to break up my day. It ended up being an awesome decision. I had the gym to myself and was able to workout the way I wanted. Going during the day also allowed me to have more energy since I wasn’t burnt out from a full day of work.

Lastly, I decided to stop using any supplements like protein powder. Instead I started eating stuff like cottage cheese and burger patties. For breakfast this morning I had kale salad with an orange juiced on top of it, picnic roast which is like ham, and a glass of carrot juice. Aside from saving money, protein powder was costing me an extra $100 a month while cottage cheese costs $40 and gives me the same amount of protein, I also lost my bloated look.

By actually working my muscles and eating right I look better than I did when I tried to imitate the professionals. While I did lose a some weight, the last time I weighed myself I was about 177 pounds, I actually look bigger and more defined. My arms look more muscular, my legs are better defined, and I have my six-pack back.

*Side note: I’m the only member of my gym to actually lift for a full year simply because I’ve avoided any injuries. Also most of the big lifters aren’t ripped or even in very good shape.

“You would think people would see that homophobia is not in their best interests. And because homophobia is a an expression of gender oppression it also reflects how marginalized women tend to be in that society and their inability to truly be independent and contribute their intellect, skills and talent to the economic pool; as well and how limited men are made to be as they must conform to rigid and oftentimes unhealthy macho pigeon-holes.”

– Random Huffington Post comment

Gay thoughts

As a casual Reddit and Imgur user I’ve noticed a weird trend over the past two years. Both sites have begun to have a lot of content related to gay rights. While I no problem with homosexuality and have a few gay bros, I do get a little tired of everyone acting like there’s some kind of Jihad against homosexuals. Between BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, and Reddit you’d think that we lived in a society where gay people are being hunted to extinction. Murderous rednecks and religious types are, were you to believe any of these sources, constantly attacking and assaulting anyone who isn’t straight. This is stupid. I live a flyover state that legalized gay marriage way before California did. The myth that people who live in the Midwest are violent and intolerant apes is just stupid. While I’m sure there are some religious nuts and trashy rednecks who do hate others, the vast majority of people could care less about what you do.

The Midwest is not filled with zealots

According to numerous reports from the media anyone who leaves the cost is immediately murdered by Bible thumping yokels who “don’t take kindly to city folk.” In reality Iowa has a higher percentage of atheists than New York does. You can even have friendly debates about religion with people and they aren’t going to get upset. Assuming that you aren’t some whiny neckbeard no one is going to care or argue with you about religious beliefs. People in the state are pretty intelligent and we have some of the smartest cities in the nation. No one is jumping out of their turnip trucks to fight with strangers.

People are liberals

The Midwest loves socialism. Seriously, a lot of the area was settled by Scandinavians who brought their liberal ideas to the area. Floyd B. Olson is generally considered to be Minnesota’s greatest governor and there are a lot of various relics to socialism that can be found throughout the region. As some commenter on a Republican forum once said “Iowa is a lost cause.” There are numerous people from California who have vacation houses around here and get along fine with local residents.

You only live around people like you

No one goes on vacation to the ghettos of Detroit. When you travel or move somewhere you go to an area that has people like you. When I go out of the country I’m not staying in a place with a high crime rate and lots of poverty. I’m going to an area that meets or exceeds my normal standard of living. Why would I downgrade? I wouldn’t move to some rundown slum where the locals would be more than happy to cause trouble to their gringo visitors, I doubt any gays are itching to move next to the Westboro Baptist Church. There are plenty of places that I could go and get into trouble with the locals, more on that in a moment, so I simply avoid those areas. It’s pretty simple to do. The last time I was in Chicago I went for a walk during the dead of night. I didn’t run into any trouble and the only people I saw were all friendly. Why? Because I don’t stay in the bad part of town. While the city might be the murder capital all the bad stuff happens in one area. The part I’m not in. If I want to walk around or get a late night snack there’s nothing that’s going to happen to me.

Rednecks hate everyone

Last year I went to hang out with a friend from school. He lives in a pretty small town. We went out and I started talking to some girl there. Within about thirty seconds I was surrounded by about four big yokels who all wanted to know what I thought I was doing. If you’re a straight man and go to some tiny town you’ll run into trouble. A lot of country boys like to fight. I’ve heard several stories about dudes who visited or lived in small towns and ended up getting into fights over some girl. Rather than starting some sort of viral campaign to end heterophobia I just avoid going to those places. It’s common sense and I’d rather stick around people who I’m similar to anyway. If you go into some country bar in the middle of nowhere and try to get laid you’ll end up in trouble. It doesn’t matter if your gay or straight.

The “macho pigeon-hole” argument is stupid

While writing this post I ate a Noosa yogurt and listened to Queen of Disaster by Lana Del Rey. Those aren’t exactly macho activities. The whole argument that men are somehow oppressed by a crippling fear of being perceived as gay is just stupid. Most dudes are so soft that they never have to fear being pigeon-holed as macho anyway. As far as everyone else goes who really cares. If some dude calls me gay for wearing pink shoes or a flamboyant shirt why would I get upset? Pirates wore tight pants, bright shirts with ruffles, and gaudy accessories. No one mistook them for being effeminate. Some of the toughest men in history had unmanly hobbies like music, writing, painting, dance, and poetry. Instead of dropping by Buffalo Wild Wings for a beer they were revolutionizing our culture. If some guy in relaxed fit jeans and a shirt from Old Navy wants to say something it’s not like I’d be losing sleep anyway.

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast where the host was talking about violent activities being on the decline. He mentioned that in his grandfather’s youth two men who had a disagreement would physically fight each other. There would be blood, broken bones, and missing teeth. Now people who hate each other will just hold a grudge. Despite violence being at an all time low the media still acts like we live in the wild west. My dad and guys in his age range all have stories about massive bar fights erupting and people getting injured with bottles and pool sticks. Fighting used to be pretty common. It isn’t any more. I can go out and see people of every single background and they are all getting along. No one cares anymore.

“While money can’t buy happiness, it certainly lets you choose your own form of misery.”

– Groucho Marx

A higher game of chess

Last week I made more almost three times as much money as I did exactly one year ago. I was planning on writing some kind of witty and insightful post about what I learned from doubling my income, but I couldn’t think of anything. While not having to worry about being broke is nice, there’s only one thing that my progress taught me. It’s something of a recurring lesson and has popped up in a lot of different aspects of my life. The only thing that growing as a person has ever made me realize is just how much stupid stuff I’ve put up with in the past.

Around this time last year I went out to a bar and had to park four blocks away. It was the only space left. As anyone who has ever had to walk with a girl wearing high heels can tell you, you’re going to hear a lot of complaints. It gets annoying after a few minutes. Additionally, my going out shoes aren’t exactly comfortable either. By the end of the trip both of us had really sore feet.

The last time that I went out I didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of parking in some remote area. I coughed up a couple bucks and had my car stored in a parking garage that was right across the street. Back in the day that would have been an expensive inconvenience for me. I made $10 an hour, putting my car in a garage would have eaten up a significant chunk of my daily bread. Putting my car away in any place that wasn’t free would have seemed like something that I’d never do. Now I can’t even image the stress of having to drive around while looking for an empty parking space.

Likewise, I don’t like going out at night that much any more. Outside of a couple excursions earlier this year I really haven’t had any incentive to go club hopping. I don’t drink and I think that most drunk people are annoying. Earlier this year I went out, spent half an hour standing in the freezing cold, and then got freight-trained be a “big boned” girl who was rushing out the door so that she could get teriyaki tacos from a food truck across the street. While I ended up laughing about the incident, it did put a damper on my night. When I got home I decided that there were better ways to meet girls than going to mediocre bars.

There’s nothing better than controlling your own destiny

When you have a job or have to take orders from other people you are powerless. A slave. You trade your life for $10 an hour. They pay you so that you can live another day and grovel for some over time. You don’t get the luxury of ever learning how much you hate mundane little nuisances. They feed you table scarps and you think it’s a sirloin. With no frame of reference how are you to know any better?

There’s a certain thrill in getting to do things that others can’t. Schadenfreude perhaps. When everyone else has to drive down the street and hunt for their parking spots, yelling and going crazy when someone else pulls in before them, you get to smile and park a hundred yards outside the club. To the girl who works at Hollister you might as well be Elon Musk. She’s not going to have to walk a mile like all her friends.

When people think of luxury they like to envision private yacht parties, mansions, and Viktor & Rolf clothing. They never realize that half the benefits involve not doing certain things. You don’t have to park all the way across town. You can stay in a private hotel room instead of having to share a cheap hostel bunk bed with some sweaty Danish backpackers. While I’d love to ball out on the Mikhail S. Vorontsov and wear some gaudy outfits, I’m still blown away by how many small things can be avoided once you start to control your own life.